Jump to content

Jay Bennett Article


Recommended Posts

i have nothing wrong w/ his musical or vocal abilities, i just was turned off a bit by his goofy faces and rock star poses/moves, that's all. i know i'm not alone in that, heck even Jeff has made fun of them from time to time.

 

i always took it as a joke though, he often doesn't have the most interesting parts, so he hams it up a little bit. i find the "i'm a wheel" routine hilarious.

 

as for Bennett, my only real gripe with him is his production philosophy, which i think hindered Summerteeth's potential. other than that i think he's okay to great in the several roles he put himself in. i'm sure it was fun to see him bring the rock back in the day, and my only problem with that would be the attention grabbing that some see in Sansone.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 65
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

joke or not, i could do without, that was my only point :)

 

as for "attention grabbing", i never really felt that way the number of times i saw them w/ Jay. yes he was a bit more in your face, but certainly not pulling out all the stops in the rockstar handbook ;)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know if this was covered in the thread, but I was reading Paste today, and the bonus CD has a Jay Bennett song on it from the new record. However, the song is credited to J. Bennett AND J. Stirratt. Are John and Jay on good terms? They work together? What is the deal?

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer
I don't know if this was covered in the thread, but I was reading Paste today, and the bonus CD has a Jay Bennett song on it from the new record. However, the song is credited to J. Bennett AND J. Stirratt. Are John and Jay on good terms? They work together? What is the deal?

 

John played on the album, but I believe that the particular song in question was a result of the Courtesy Move days.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Jay Bennett would be nothing if it weren't for Wilco so anyone who feels bad for the guy when reporters ask him about it, forget it...he owes a lot to Wilco. That being said, Wilco owes a lot to him as well and I think they know that much of their success before and leading up to YHF can be attributed to him.

 

Let's all just take a moment and be thankful that post-Bennett Wilco still manages to rock our socks off day in and day out.

 

 

If you are speaking in terms of music and music fans then perhaps Jay might be nothing without Wilco. But then again Wilco might be nothing without UT. You could aply the same thought process countless hundreds of times. Jay is a good musician and proably would nto be able to make a living at it had he not been in Wilco, maybe he could have, but probably not. The same can be said for Mr Tweedy and his relationship with Farrar/UT but all you get out of such arguments is opinion and hypothesis. Jay was far from nothing though, the guy is well educated and in his chosen field (education) he could have a great impact on young people. He really has the ability to do a lot of things which is far more than a nothing has.

Link to post
Share on other sites
The big difference is that Tweedy and Farrar get along now, while Bennett and Tweedy, probably not so much.

 

Who knows down the road?

 

I hadn't heard that Tweedy and Farrar were on good terms, as of last year Farrar obviously still had a few axes to grind remember the Relix interview?

 

--Mike

Link to post
Share on other sites

No doubt that the Bennett-era Wilco shows were fun. Sounds dumb, but Bennett just visually added some interest to concerts. I remember shows when the band would meander out, looking every bit like a rock band on the road. Tweedy usaully would start off looking tired and/or drugged up....totally focused on the songs....almost oblivious to anything else....one show I was up front, and it looked like Tweedy was in another world....I was rather worried for him. But after a few songs, he'd snap out of it. Coomer always seemed alert, but he had a ragged look about him. Stirrat always looked cool up on stage....but fit in with the road-worn rock band look. Then Bennett would be standing off to the side, cigarette in mouth, wild hair flying around, throwing in a few rock star wankery moves....him and Jeff many times would have a laugh about something. And JP would occassionally finish a show by singing a Led Zeppelin song. It had more of a train wreck quality that was entertaining in its own way.

 

To me, today's band is light years ahead musically and every show is both rockin and beautiful. But Bennett-era Wilco shows were equally entertaining....if maybe for different reasons.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Ok so I figured I would put this in the Jay string...haha

I am seeing Jay tomorrow in Pittsburgh. I was thinking of trying to meet him after the show. I have a copy of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot that I have already gotten signed by Jeff, Glenn, and John.

Would it be in bad taste to ask him to sign it?

I'm kind of a completist, but I'm also a human being...

Very nice man.Good luck in your mission.And I will have one in your honor on 12/8 :cheers (and my honor as well :lol )

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
I am not even going to bother defending Jay here anymore. He is a great musician, and can play guitar as good or better than anyone out there. I think the people who continue to put him down let the fact that Jeff Tweedy had a falling out with him have an influence on their opinion of him. I have met Jay, and he is one of the nicest people you will meet. He is building a great solo career. And by the way, his new album is fantastic. It is miles better than any of the new Wilco songs I've been hearing.

No way in hell did you just say that Bennet's songs are better than the new Wilco songs. You have to be kidding me big time.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...